


Void

by wanderer765



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 16:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10495158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderer765/pseuds/wanderer765
Summary: Barry and Iris have a hard, but necessary conversation.





	

Cold and grey.

A constant drum.

The sound of water hitting the windows.

The light of day escaped their room, slowly being replaced by the darkness of night. Shadows skipped around, trading places, as the sun and moon shifted in the sky.

The air was thick. Too thick.

Neither one of them spoke out loud, but their minds shared a quiet conversation of the thoughts they dared not speak.

Twenty eight days.

Twenty eight sunrises and twenty eight sunsets.

Twenty eight mornings left until the spot beside him would be empty.

He tried to stay positive, but he was hollowing out. With every day that passed and brought the day closer, another piece of him broke off. Another piece of what made him whole, that filled him up, was lost to the nothingness that waited for him.

Twenty eight days.

"Barry?"

She was still as he held her in his arms.

"Mhmm?"

He could feel her body tense, her heart beating against his chest just a little bit faster than before.

"I need you to promise me something."

She sat up, turning her face towards him.

He closed his eyes.

He knew what was coming. He knew the impossible things she was about to ask of him and hoped that shutting his eyes would somehow block it all out. That he could hide behind the thin veil of skin that kept him from seeing, protecting him from the words that were about to pierce through the air.

"Bear..."

Her voice was warm and soft like honey, dripping with a heartbreaking sweetness. Quietly begging him to not make this any harder for her.

She turned her body, bringing her legs underneath her. Her hand reached out for his face.

"Bear...please...let me see those beautiful eyes of yours."

He slowly and reluctantly opened his eyes.

The way the soft light from the windows hit her dark hair and her white nightgown made her look ethereal. Like an angel whose sole purpose was to bring comfort and light to the blackest of nights, to warm the coldest of hearts, to bring life back after death had taken everything away.

He sat up too and placed his hand on top of hers.

She looked down for a moment and he saw her grip at their sheets with her other hand. A moment passed and then her eyes met his with a sadness that made his stomach drop.

"Take care of them for me? Dad and Wally I mean. I need you to not run away from them. My dad won't survive losing both of us, so you have to promise me you won't leave him."

His head moved down in one gentle nod.

"And don't give up on Wally. He might spin out of control a little bit over this. He'll need you to ground him and keep him focused. He has the potential to be great, so make sure he knows that, ok?"

He nodded again.

She let her hand fall from his face. She bit at her lip and shakily took a deep breath in, her hands resting in her lap.

"And..."

The words got caught in her throat as tears slowly streamed down her face.

"I...I need you to not break. I need you to keep living, to be the brave, strong and selfless man that I know you are.

I know this will hurt you. That the ache in your bones will never fully go away, but let it always remind you that I'm with you."

She grabbed his hands in hers, but kept her eyes down.

"I need you to let yourself move on. Your heart is so big and you have so much love to give, you have to promise me you won't keep it for yourself. You have to give it away. You have to let yourself fall in love and be happy. Find someone who can make you whole again. Make new memories and write a new love story for yourself....have babies."

Her voice cracked.

"You will make a wonderful father someday Barry. Don't deny yourself that because I'm gone."

She moved her body closer to him.

"I love you with my whole heart. You are the _great_ love of my life and I will treasure that always and take it with me. Please don't let this ruin you, it's not what I want. You have to promise me you'll wake up every morning and be the best version of you that you can be. Promise me."

His eyes closed again, his face wet with tears. He gave her another nod, his head hanging low.

She sat in his lap and rested her head on his chest.

"I know neither of us wanted to have this conversation, but we had to. We can't let things go unsaid...not now."

"I know," he whispered.

His voice was weak and barely audible amongst their crying.

He squeezed his arms tightly around her body.

"I'm gonna miss you so much."

He buried his face in her shoulder, his body shaking from the angry sobs that made their way out.

She pulled herself away enough to take his face in her hands. Her thumbs softly wiped at his tears before she kissed him.

It felt final, like they had both finally come to terms with the reality of what lay ahead.

The reality that these next twenty eight days could really be her last twenty eight days.

They repositioned themselves so that they were laying down again, the shadows in their room now uninviting in the darkness.

Cold and grey.

The light from the street lamps below not offering any real warmth to their room.

The rain echoed off the buildings and windows.

The air was still thick, but their minds were no longer crowded with words left unsaid.

Now there was nothing.

Nothing but waiting and hoping and counting the days.

They held on tightly to twenty eight. 


End file.
